Christianity and Social Order

A recent social debate is concerning the curriculum change in Texas public schools from elementary to high school. On March 12, 2010, , the Texas Board of Education in the capital buildings of Austin agreed on a change to social studies curriculum that placed a conservative stamp on history and economics textbooks in most Texas public schools. The vote was 10 to 5, with all the Republicans on the board voting for it, claiming the change to be “stressing the superiority of American capitalism, questioning the Founding Fathers’ commitment to a purely secular government and presenting Republican political philosophies in a more positive light.” “In past years, the Texas Board of Education members have been battling between conservatives who question Darwin’s theory of evolution and believe the Founding Fathers were following Christian principles in building the nation and Democrats and moderate Republicans who have fought to preserve the teaching of Darwinism and the separation of church and state.” Their justification for the change was that they were just adding balance in textbooks.

William Temple’s two-fold method of the Church’s impact upon Society includes first, making Christian principles known and second, equipping members of the Church to reshape the existing order on the basis of these principles. How I am examining this issue of the curriculum change by Christian conservatives in regards to the two-fold method of Temple is that the social order of the citizens or the students in this case is to be influenced by Christians who should be living out the kingdom of God in their environments, but this has to be done in a responsible way in which faith is not coerced; meaning it should not be done through a pressurized political agenda. I believe Christians are to remain faithful and obedient, always showing forth the love that God has opened to all mankind. In doing this (faithfulness), I believe unbelievers will come to know Christ Jesus, the Risen and Saviour Lord that lives in the hearts of those who call themselves His followers.

-Kingsley

You're the King of the World!

For this blog, my task was to walk around somewhere praying and trying to notice as many things as I could about God’s fascinating creation. For example, observing the individual blades of grass, insects, blooming flowers, the sway of tree branches, and the surrounding interactions. For my walking experience, I walked to the pond on campus; I stayed there and walked around for a few minutes, and noticed the little fishes in the pond, and the ripples on the surface of the pond caused by the swift wind. Sometimes, I almost do not want to stop and ponder upon God’s creation because I am reluctant of how much my mind might be put into a maze of how incredibly awesome God is to have created every single little thing, and each single little thing serving some kind of purpose. It baffles me! Yet at those moments when my mind attempts to grasp how God created everything, I am most aware and appreciative of how great God is. Because if it is God, the Creator of the Universe, the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega that has created all things, then definitely a small mortal  insignificant being like me should certainly not be able to grasp all there is to God. Therefore I rejoice all the more! 

Oh, back to my experience on the walk. The birds…wow! They were all singing their own songs; I imagined they were singing praises to the King of the World. I then walked through the woods behind the pond because I saw an open gate. I walked to the soccer field, sat down under a hut and watched the shadows provided by the clouds above to keep the ground cool. This also marveled me, concerning how there are layers and layers of protection including the clouds that were keeping God’s creation cool or in good condition. My prayer to God during my walk was for him to help me trust him entirely because He is the Creator, the King of the World; why not trust Him completely?! How I might grow in the area of learning to see others and the world more clearly is to see them as the King of the World sees them… His good creation.

Pray the Scripture

Madame Guyon’s approach to praying scripture is first, to choose a simple message, second, read it slowly, third, try to sense the heart of each verse before moving on, and lastly turning into a prayer whatever strikes as particularly meaningful.

My task was to attempt Guyon’s approach and to reflect on it. I have been reading in James for my personal devotion so I spent some time in verses 13-18 of the third chapter. What I learned particularly in this passage is the two kinds of wisdom.There is one kind that comes from God and another that does not come from God. The wisdom that comes from the world is full of selfish ambitions and envy while the wisdom that comes from heaven is pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. I also learned that if we are to be considered wise and understanding, then we are to show it by our good life by deeds done in the humility that comes from the wisdom that comes from God. I pray that God would give us (and also me) the wisdom that comes from him only; the wisdom that does not seek selfish gain but instead is first of all pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.